Receiver and data transfer method

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a memory card ( 10 ) for a mobile telephone, and a data-transfer method. The memory card according to the invention includes a receiver, which is able to receive information from at least one peripheral device ( 2, 4, 5 ) of a wristop computer, or from a wristop computer ( 3 ).

The present invention relates to a memory card, according to claim 1, for a mobile telephone.

The invention also relates to a data transfer method.

According to the prior art, data are transferred from a peripheral device to a wristop computer using either analog or digital wireless data transfer. Typical peripheral devices in a wristop computer include heart-rate belts, pedometers, speedometers, odometers, and, in cycling, chain-tension meters and pedalling cadence meters, together with their transmitters.

Data transfer from peripheral devices has been limited to only wristop computers belonging to the same system totality. In some cases, the data-transfer channel of the peripherals must be changed, if several wristop computers are in operation simultaneously in the same area.

Systems are also known, in which data transferred to a wristop computer can be forwarded to a mobile phone, but in that case both the mobile phone and the wristop computer must be specifically designed and programmed for this operation.

Mobile telephone manufacturers are unwilling to tailor separate receivers for their mobile phones, because the numerous wristop computer manufacturers each use different data-transfer protocols.

The invention is intended to eliminate the defects of the prior art disclosed above and for this purpose create an entirely new type of solution.

The invention is based on an advantageously direct data-transfer connection being formed from the peripheral device of the wristop computer to the mobile phone, through a memory card located in the latter, or alternatively from the wristop computer directly to the memory card of the mobile phone. This connection is preferably digital. According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the receiver is implemented in the mobile phone in a memory card to be connected to it, so that data transfer can be implemented by procuring a receiver-memory-card for the mobile phone and then installing suitable software in the mobile phone.

More specifically, the memory card according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of claim 1.

The data transfer method according to the invention is, in turn, characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of claim 12.

Considerable advantages are gained with the aid of the invention.

The measurement of heart rate, number of steps, or chain tension can be implemented without an actual wristop computer, or in parallel with it. The transfer of data to the mobile phone permits the measured data to be archived in a desired location, though a telecommunications network. The collection and comparison of data on amateur groups also becomes possible through effective data transmission.

The software of the mobile station can always be easily updated according to the user's requirements and the latest program versions.

The total cost of the equipment to the user is reduced, thus making it less expensive to use peripheral devices in, for example, home nursing. Using the method disclosed, data from a heart-rate transmitter can be forwarded to be available to nursing professionals. In this case, the mobile station can be equipped with suitable software for defining alarm limits and for sending alarms or instructions to the correct destination, for example, back to the wristop computer.

Mobile telephones are equipped with high-quality displays and powerful processors, so that the mobile phone that acts as the basic device will need no other equipment modifications in addition to the memory card, in order to implement the invention.

In the following, the invention is examined with the aid of examples of applications according to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows schematically one system configuration according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows schematically one memory card and mobile station according to the invention.

In this application, the following terminology is used:

-   1 mobile station -   2 transmitter belt for heart rate -   3 wristop computer -   4 pedometer transmitter -   5 chain-tension transmitter -   6 data-transmission connection between mobile station and peripheral     device -   10 receiver memory card -   11 mobile-station display -   12 mobile-station keypad -   13 memory-card antenna

According to FIG. 1, the user (who is, for example, cycling) can have several wristop-computer peripheral devices, such as a heart-rate transmitter belt 2, a pedometer transmitter 4, or a chain-tension transmitter 5 for forwarding pedalling-power data. Normally, these peripheral devices communicate only with a wristop computer 3, but, according to the invention, they can be arranged to communicate also, or only with a mobile station 1. The mobile station 1 is a normal mobile station, such as a cellular mobile station using any data-transfer protocol whatever. A precondition for the operation according to the invention is that the mobile station 1 has an expansion slot for an external memory card. An example of such a mobile station is the Sony Ericsson P900, in which there is a Memory Stick Duo™ expansion slot. A memory card, which can receive a signal sent by the peripheral devices 2, 4, and 5 and forward it to the data system of the mobile station for further processing or re-transmission, can be placed in such an expansion slot. Expansion slots of this type are typically equipped with power-supply contacts, through which operating power can be supplied to the receiver.

The actual peripheral devices 2, 4, and 5 need no modification, as long as the receiver of the memory card 10 shown in FIG. 2 is designed and implemented correctly.

In addition to a transmitter, other measuring functionalities, such as the measurement of the ambient pressure and temperature, or a combination of them, can also be located in the memory card 10. Pressure data can be advantageously combined with heart-rate data, making it possible to see the dependence between changes in altitude and heart rate in various exercise situations.

The memory card 10 preferably has an integrated antenna 13, dimensioned externally for the operating frequency being used between the peripheral device and the memory card.

The data-transfer protocol 6 between the peripherals 2, 4, and 5 is typically digital, though analog data transfer is also possible.

Suitable data-transfer protocols are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,269, Finnish patent 96380, and in the present applicant's confidential Finnish patent applications FI 20031873 and FI 20040930.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the memory card 10 receives the data of the peripherals 2, 4, 5 through a wristop computer 3.

A typical and advantageous feature of the invention is that, when in use, the memory card 10 is mechanically protected inside the mobile phone 1.

The memory card 10 is preferably manufactured with the aid of a special packaging technology. Such technologies include planar circuit techniques, by means of which the circuit totalities are made as thick as the circuit card. In such techniques, the integrated circuits are typically located inside a multi-layered circuit-card structure. The memory cards 10 are preferably inside the telephone and protected by its case, so that typically practically nothing remains outside the device, except perhaps for part of the antenna.

Memory-card technologies that make the invention possible are represented by, for example, the standards SMMC and MMC, which have been developed by SanDisc and Siemens. The storage capacity of an MMC (Multi Media Disc) is about one gigabyte and the corresponding capacity of an SMMC 256 megabytes.

A frequency of 2.4 GHz is typically used in data transfer from a peripheral device. The transmission techniques permit transfer distances of several tens of metres. The peripheral devices and protocols permit two-way telecommunication.

One example of a practical application according to the invention is game applications, in which one parameter in games in the mobile station can be the player's heart rate, which in the manner according to the invention can be transmitted directly from the transmitter belt 2 through the memory card 10 to the mobile station 1, which can always, according to the game application, utilize the heart-rate data to give an extra bonus, or, for example, calculate the heartbeats consecutively and thus influence the game event.

According to the invention, data (for example, heart-rate data) from the peripherals of several users can be collected in the memory-card receiver 10 of a single mobile telephone 1. This procedure will allow, for instance, team coaches to collect data from several team players and guide the team in real time, always according to the loading level of each individual. For example, in mountaineering the most heavily loaded climber (with the highest heart rate) can hand over equipment to others. Similarly, in a cycling team the leader of the team can be changed on the basis of real loading data, with the aid of normal telephones and a memory card 10 according to the invention.

The examples of applications disclosed above do not restrict the scope of protection of our invention, which is described in the following Claims. 

1. A memory card (10) for a mobile telephone, characterized in that it includes a receiver, which is able to receive information from at least one measuring device (2, 4, 5).
 2. A memory card (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes a receiver, which is able to receive information from at least one peripheral device (2, 4, 5) of a wristop computer.
 3. A memory card (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the receiver is arranged to receive information directly from the peripheral device (2, 4, 5).
 4. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the receiver is arranged to receive information from the peripheral device (2, 4, 5) through a wristop computer (3).
 5. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the receiver is analog.
 6. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the receiver is digital.
 7. A memory card (10) according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that the receiver is digital.
 8. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that it includes an antenna (13) for receiving a signal.
 9. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that, in the operating situation, it is protected inside the mobile telephone (1).
 10. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that it is implemented using a multi-layer circuit-board technology, in which at least part of the integrated circuits are embedded in the circuit-board structure.
 11. A memory card (10) according to any of the above claims, characterized in that it includes a pressure or temperature sensor, or both of these.
 12. A data-transfer method, in which a signal is forwarded for processing from at least one measuring device (2, 4, 5), characterized in that the data is received by the mobile station (1), with the aid of a memory-card receiver (10) located in it.
 13. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that information is received in the memory card (10) directly from the peripheral device (2, 4, 5).
 14. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the information is received in the memory card (10) through a wristop computer (3).
 15. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the transmission is digital.
 16. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the transmission is analog.
 17. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that, in the operating situation, the memory-card receiver (10) is located inside the mobile telephone (1).
 18. A method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that an antenna (13), which is adapted to the data-transmission frequency being used, is located in the memory card (10).
 19. A method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that it is implemented using a multi-layer circuit-board technology, in which at least some of the integrated circuits are embedded inside the circuit-board structure.
 20. A method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the data of several users is transferred in a centralized manner to a single memory card (10).
 21. A method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that data is transferred in both directions between a peripheral device (2, 4, 5) and the memory card (10).
 22. A method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that data is transferred in both directions between a peripheral device (2, 4, 5) and the memory card (10).
 23. A method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the memory-card receiver (10) is used to measure temperature or pressure, or both of these. 